Everything I Need…

Sharing today in remembrance of our beloved Grammy, who passed into the loving arms of Jesus on this day 11 years ago. She was not just a mom, she was WOW!

 

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalm 23:1 KJV)

Can you imagine telling 2-year-olds that they “shall not want”?

They do want! They want candy bars at the store. They want their siblings’ toys. They want doughnuts for dinner. A child wants a lot of things, but a parent can say “no” if it’s something the child doesn’t need.

As grown-ups, we have “wants,” too. And sometimes our wants are not so different (bring on the chocolate!). But we have a Heavenly Father who can say “no” too.

Just like a 2-year-old, we don’t always get what we want, but 2 Peter 1:3 says,

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.”

Click here to read the rest of the devotion at Internet Cafe Devotions

May the Lord give you everything you need today,

~Linda

Devotion reprinted with permission © 2006 Group Publishing, Inc.

Sit here and rest awhile…

There’s a busy, crazy, obligation and performance driven world rushing around you…

Stop and sit.

Rest here for awhile.

Look, listen, and feel a different rhythm of life…

These chairs have given rest and renewed strength for many a weary pilgrim.

Today they extend an invitation to you.

Sit.

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This is not just a picture, it’s a thousand words for you to hear…

If God doesn’t build the house, the builders only build shacks. 
If God doesn’t guard the city, the night watchman might as well nap. 
It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. 
Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?

Psalm 127:1-3 MSG

What other words will God speak to you as you rest here today?

With Him.

© Linda Crawford 2012, all rights reserved.

 

All I Need to Know

I started a new journal a few weeks ago…one where I write just for me and God. It’s a journal where I don’t have to edit myself or organize my thoughts and I’m free to doodle, type with my eyes closed, or switch subjects as fast as lightening or as slow as molasses.

It’s my place to play.

And as I play, I’m discovering more freedom, more joy, and more of the Linda God created me to be than ever before.

God’s showing me all I really need to know is quite simple, like this classic poem from Robert Fulghum:

God’s also showing me that all I need to pray for is quite simple too, and asked me to share this little piece of my journal with you…

I’m praying my prayer for you today too. May you draw, paint, sing, dance and play some today as the joy of the wonder of life fills you to overflowing.

Thank you Lord, you have all we need to know today.

~Linda

© Linda Crawford, Sunny Side Up, 2012, all rights reserved.

How I Impressed the Grocery Bagging Guy

I’m sharing a fun story at Internet Cafe Devotions today!

I’m like most women I see at the grocery store—I shop alone.

I plan our family meals, take stock of the bare cupboards, and venture solo to the mega store where, list in hand, I methodically hunt down and gather our food each week. It’s exhausting work doing it alone. Reaching, bending, lifting, carrying, and loading all those groceries into and out of that cart (and later into and out of the car and finally into the cupboards) is a workout!

I’m convinced the reason many women wear sweatpants to the grocery store is because they know how much they are going to sweat!

A few years ago I hurt my shoulder and had to go solo to the store with my left arm in a sling. I soon realized I could never pass the straight-line-cart-driving-sobriety test steering with only one hand, and the more items I put in, the worse it got. Weaving around the store, I became more and more frustrated and less and less in control of my cart. Then it dawned on me that I was going to have to load and unload everything with one hand too. I quickly pared down my list to the necessities and carefully maneuvered my way to the checkout.

I had unloaded about a third of my cart onto the revolving belt before the pleasant young man behind the bagging station offered to help. They usually don’t offer to help me, so I knew one of three things must be true—either I looked like I needed help because of the sling, he saw me drunk-driving my cart, or, more than likely, my slow, one at a time unloading was holding up the sighing impatient line of customers behind me. Usually fiercely independent on grocery shopping treks, this time I was embarrassed and grateful for the help…

Click here to read the rest of the story at Internet Cafe Devotions to discover how an arm injury, a Homecoming dance and a grocery clerk helped me get an important message from God!

Have a sunny-side up day!

~Linda

© 2012, Linda Crawford, Sunny Side Up, all rights reserved.

Divine Creativity

It’s officially Spring and we’ve been blessed with warm weather and bright sunshine for weeks now. There’s sure to be more snow and gray days ahead, yet it’s hard not to be inspired by leaf buds and flowers stalks that hint at the promised beauty of the colors yet to come.

Every spring I find myself in awe of the creativity of God–the emerging sights, sounds and colors of the season inspire and challenge me. Birds sing in my backyard, purple crocuses adorn an empty garden, neighbors appear for afternoon chats and doggy visits. Life is stirring again after prolonged hidden-ness and I find myself wanting to embrace and breathe of it anew.

God is so creative. Life is so creative.

We humans are so creative.

Spring has me pondering our human creativity this week.  How do composers create music? Artists paint? Writers write? Singers sing? Designers design? Builders build? Cooks cook? Dancers dance? Actors act? Speakers speak? Mothers mother?

To create beauty–to be a planting for the display of His glory. That’s my tagline for this blog, and the desire of my heart as a writer.

So today, with the sun shining through my patio window and a robin singing in the backyard, I took a few moments to sit and write the desires of my heart for my creative process as a writer.

It started as a seed and bloomed as this:

What would it be like to catch a divine sentence in a butterfly net?

Beautiful, it flutters near to show off its markings, the colors of its meaning, and the rhythm of its movement.

Yet it has no sound to be heard, no melody—until captured and translated into crooked letters that are placed along a path.

Like crumbs of bread the words entice the hungry to eat, to follow their journey, to discover where they will lead…

Once studied, heard in song and transformed into words to hunger for, the divine sentence is released with gratitude to fly back to its creator.

This is how I wish to write.

If only I could capture a tiny piece of beauty, a glimmer of truth, a portion of His love to share in words–to put His glory on display…all the struggles of the creative process would be worthwhile.

Thank goodness I have a book filled with words of beauty, truth and love to guide me…

Every word you give me is a miracle word— how could I help but obey? Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning. Psalm 119:129-130 (MSG)

 They defeated him (the enemy of our souls) through the blood of the Lamb and the bold word of their witness. Revelation 12:11 (MSG)

The bold word of their witness…

Let’s keep speaking, singing, writing, dancing, painting and creating beauty to put the glory of the Lord on display!

How does God inspire your creativity?

~ Linda

© Linda Crawford, Sunny Side Up, 2012.